The Ice Prince
by spiderwebbed
Summary: A Nyotalia AU Faerietale. Fem!Japan x Male!Belarus.


The moment she awoke, she knew something was wrong. It was the middle of May, and yet there was a chill in the air that made her shiver with surprise. Sakura looked across her bedroom— as expected; her elder sister's bed was empty, which still made her stomach twist with the memory. She pinched herself. "Chun Yan has gone back to the mainland," she reminds herself under her breath. It didn't exactly hurt less to say out loud, but the truth had always made her mind feel clear.

Quietly, Sakura sighed and dressed herself, trying not to think about the lack of movement in the room. At the last moment, she pulled a warm sweater, thinking on the mystery of the cold outside of her \window. It didn't take long to figure out—as soon as she opened the front door, she was confronted with a block of ice at the entrance blocking the doorway. Then she realized- _this was another door_. There was even an ice carved doorknob, dripping water off of it.

"Impossible," she murmured, shutting her front door. She took a breath and grasped the door knob, opening the wooden door again. Cautiously, she gave the translucent door a tap—the ice was as solid as a rock. Grasping the doorknob, she shivered, her hand reddening from the cold. Turning it slowly, she pushed open the door. The sky was a blur of deep gray and frost. She put her hand out the doorway, little flurries flying into her hand. _Impossible._ A blizzard? How was there a blizzard on an island the middle of the Pacific? She peeked through the doorway. Miraculously, it seemed that her doorway was the only thing affected like… like…

"Some sort of portal," she whispered. On the outside of her house, the physical building was nowhere to be seen. Dazed by the amazing sight of a door way in space, she took a few steps forward into the snow, and scooped some into her hand, unable to believe that what she was seeing was real. Before she knew it, she heard a tell tale creak of the door shutting behind her. She tried to open it again, only to discover that it was locked. Fear sliding down her back, Sakura shouted aloud and pounded on the door with a fist—it was ineffective in opening it, and instead only succeeded in forming a hairline crack in a jagged diagonal line across the world. Her eyes widened and she took a step back. If she were going to make it back home, it wasn't going to be through here. She turned around and squinted—the blizzard was making it difficult to see, but she could just barely make out the outline of the large castle-in the distance. A thought peaked in her mind.

All her life, Sakura lived on the farthest end of the island with her elder sister— but even she knew of the Ice Prince. Only fools had not heard the tale, and even more foolish ones didn't believe it. It was the story passed down from one generation to the next—a thousand years worth of tales that had congealed together but claimed the same thing—far away from the island was a barren, lifeless land of permafrost, habituated only by wolves and ruled by a Prince without emotion. It was rumored that he was a youth, thousands of years old but frozen in time by the coldness of his own heart.

A memory flitted through her mind of leaning against the open doorway of the inn a moon ago. She remembered clearly that the bard of the night sang a tale of the cold-hearted Prince of Black Ice and Wolves in the Faraway Snow Kingdom. She tried to remember the words, but only the first lines filtered through her memory.

_"Faraway-a past the gales of warmth and summer coves_  
_Lives the heartless Prince of Ice and his Frost-Clawéd Wolves."_

Her heart pounded in her chest— without a doubt, she was in the land of Ice and Snow— which meant that freezing to death was not her sole worry. Somewhere out in the ice and gloom, there was a band of carnivorous wolves notoriously known for their dedication to the Ice Prince. And though it was an unknown mystery as to why they'd chosen the _Prince_ of all persons to serve, Sakura wasn't quite eager to find out.

She tramped through the snow determinately. No matter how awful the Prince, he couldn't have been worse than the notion of being eaten alive by blood-thirsty wolves or freezing to death in the snow with no one to know where she'd disappeared to. She clawed her way through foot after foot of deep snow, her hands and feet like numb rocks on the end of her hands. _I can make it_, she told to herself as the minutes passed, _I'll survive._

She trekked forward, dragging herself closer to the massive silhouette of the castle. The wind howled all around her, snow weighing her down as the temperature sank even further to unbearable conditions. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest as she tried to concentrate, even as her eyesight wavered. _Shelter_. She'd passed trees, but that had seemed like it was miles ago. Sakura made a mental resolution. When she chanced upon another, she would use it for shelter. Squinting through the snow, she made out the vague silhouette of some sort of tree. With a burst of strength she was not aware she possessed, she ran for the grand, comforting shadow- until a certain sound froze her to the spot.

A wolf's howl to her right froze her in place, and she looked around wildly. She didn't have to search for long—an unexpected force knocked the wind from her lungs and pinned her to the ground. A monster wolf was above her, pressing her body into the snow with one massive paw on her back. It was huge, a thing of legends, its might dwarfing that of even a lion. Terrified, Sakura did not move. She did not hear the sound as more wolves approached and surrounded her, but she did hear the crunch of shoes walking towards her and stopping. As the footsteps came nearer, she managed to get a glimpse of pale grey boots. Sakura attempted to glance up, but the wolf's growl discouraged her.

"Bring her." The voice she heard was young and male, but what struck her was the fact that his was the coldest, most unfeeling sound she'd ever head. Another part of the bard's song appeared in her mind, the voice striking a chord in her memory.

"_The wolves with teeth as sharp as might_  
_A horde of shadow in the night_  
_They follow the Prince of Darkest Arts_  
_who hungers for Pure Maidens' Hearts."_

Sakura shuddered against the snow as she digested the frightening thought. The wolf growled again, and in the cold, she felt herself going number still. She tried to concentrate, but the roar of the blizzard grew in her ears, then faded away to nothing.

She woke up in a flash, significantly warmer in comparison to the blizzard, but still shivering. As her eyes opened, she noted that she was in a small room with a fireplace—but instead of fire, there was an icy block glittering in the shape of flame. She smiled wryly to herself despite the situation. At the very least, she was still alive. The sound of a lonely wolf's howl snapped her from her reverie and made her take note of her surroundings more carefully. There was a pale blue blanket folded neatly on the end of her bed—which, thankfully, was not made of ice—and she wrapped it around herself, hugging herself to retain the slight warmth. Sakura looked at the door—there were bars on it, as well as on the windows. She sighed quietly to herself. "So I am a prisoner after all." She folded her legs beneath herself, thoughtfully tapping her mouth as she tried to come up with a way to escape. A few times, wolves passed her cell, their claws clacking against the ice. They all ignored her, not even providing a slight glance of interest. She wondered if that meant that she was not the first to be barred in this cell.

Sakura sighed and wished- not for the first time- that she had been more resourceful and grabbed something—_anything_ —before opening the icy portal, but she had not. She lay down on the soft, clean bed and faced the wall in misery. When she heard her cell open. To her surprise, there was a wolf-jailer with a ring of keys in its mouth. The wolf eyed her, the light of intelligence in the one pale blue eye that could see. The other eye had jagged claw marks dragged over it and before Sakura observe further, the wolf shook itself and growled noncommittally in her direction. She took that as a signal to follow.

Standing and shuffling forward, she tripped over something—it appeared to be a pair of small boots. The wolf eyed her, a shuffling, huffing sound in its chest—it appeared to be laughing. Sakura frowned in its direction. "Well, I didn't see them," she grumbled in its direction. The wolf just bared its teeth at her in a wild, animal grin. She pushed her feet into the boots and followed it as it trotted down hallway after winding hallway through the castle—for where else could she be? Ice sculptures lined the hallways, the frozen statues ranging from ethereal to grotesque. She looked around—it was empty of other persons, but as she passed the halls, she could see wolves padding down the halls, paying her no mind. As Sakura passed beneath the arches, she noted that oddly, there were no doors in the palace. Then she realized—of course not. There were no others who lived here besides… She looked back towards her wolf.

"Are we there yet?" she asked mildly. The wolf tossed her a glance and let out a bark. Finally, it sat in front of a door and began licking its massive paws. "I guess we are," she muttered, stepping towards the door arch. As she did so, the cold voice beckoned her.

"Come in."

She shivered, but bravely stepped forward. Her eyes were stunned with what she saw. It was a forest made completely of ice. Leafless trees, perfectly sculpted, with groups of clear, glass-like daffodils growing- if that were the word- on the ice floor around them— and to center it all, a massive throne carved from a tree trunk made of ice. She touched a branch, almost expecting to feel glass. It was impossibly, bizarrely beautiful: just as was the person sitting on the throne. The Prince was unexpectedly human—Sakura had expected some ice monster who ate women's hearts, and yet, here he was cold, unassuming... and unmistakably utterly human.

He had the pale skin of a dead man, with grey-blue lips and sunken, haunted dark eyes that looked as though they had not slept in years. Sakura's heart thumped in her chest. He was like a corpse of a handsome man. The Prince was long and thin, and he sat in his throne, eyeing her with great detachment. Sakura approached his throne. Was she to bow? Curtsy? She settled with inclining her head hesitantly, and though his expression did not change, she waited for him to speak. When he did not, she did.

"Why am I here?" Her voice echoed in the massive chamber, sound wafting out into nothing.

His response was slow and deliberate.

"…Because…" He folded his fingers together. "You have… _chosen_ to be here…" Sakura was surprised by his response, but her own bubbled forth from her lips, slightly anguished.

"You took me from my family!"

"I did nothing. It was you who came onto my land… and yet… you speak so impertinently…" He lifts a pale eyebrow. "Tell me, mortal girl… Why would I need you?"

_Mortal girl?_ So the tales were true. He _was _immortal. She feels unsure, but her anger gives her strength to speak her mind. "To… to eat my heart. I've heard the stories. I know that you steal woman away to kill them!"

There is a rusty, croaking sound that confuses her. He is… laughing? It reminds her of the wolf's shuffling snort but without the vibrant, living emotion behind it. She recoiled like a dead thing had fallen from his mouth instead of just a laugh- and she wasn't quite off of the mark.

"I make this promise you, girl… I will not eat your heart…" He leaned back in the ice throne, bringing his fingers together. His words were callous and unfeeling. "In all actuality, I would not care if you lived or died, you impertinent intruder." He paused and parted his lips, baring his teeth in a limp, lifeless grin. "However, I find you interesting. I do not need you- and do not want you for something a uselessly frivolous as the heart of a young woman, however delicious the wolves may find it…" His blue, drowned lips curved upwards in a mechanical smile that cannot reach his eyes. "Stay here." His eyes looked distant. "I almost felt amused... as though I could remember what exactly it felt like to laugh..." As he pondered, he gestured toward her with the posture of a king. His air is grand and ancient, like an ageless tree. Sakura wondered if he'd gone mad.

"I decline your offer, Ice Prince." She folded her hands together. "I have no reason-" He interrupted her.

"What have you called me?" He managed to look vaguely interested. "Ice Prince...?" He echoed. "Is that what I am called now? A slight upgrade from Monstrous Cannibal of Black Ice..." He tapped his chin. "Ah... no- that was two thousand years ago. Of course it has changed. You were saying?" He lifted his eyebrows and leaned forward to show his interest, but Sakura took a step back. There was something unnerving about his stiff actions. Then she noticed- his eyes were like glass- shining with dimension, yet, flat and unmoving. There was nothing in his heart. This man was _truly_ made of ice. Her voice was quiet with shock.

"You truly have no heart, do you?" Her voice is a fearful whisper. "What… what happened to you?"

The false expression dropped from his face, replaced by the same emotionless expression.

"It's almost ironic," he began in a monotone, "Considering that the rumor is that I eat the hearts of pure maiden when it was one suchlike person who ate my own heart, in a sense. Simply froze it and snapped the fragile thing to pieces..." He shook his head. "I was trying so hard to make my emotions realistic... What gave the game away?"

"The eyes," she croaked, her throat suddenly dry. He ignored Sakura's shock.

"I suppose you cannot fake such a thing... Do they not still say that eyes are the window to one's soul?" He lifted his shoulders, then reached out a hand to her, beckoning forward. "Do come closer." He leaned against one side of his icy throne. "I want to know more about this distant world you have come from. What, for instance, what do you know of me? What is my name?"

"I don't know. No one does, Ice Prince." Sakura frowned. He was so odd. What sort of man didn't know his own name? "I just know that…" She hesitated. "That you are a youth whose heart has been frozen because you were cruel. You eat hearts. Your palace is full of bloodthirsty wolves that do your bidding and obey only you. And... and..." her throat stuck. "Your heart can only be unfrozen if kissed by... by…" She trailed off. He motioned for her to continue.

"By anyone?" He prompted politely. She shook her head.

"By the one who is supposed to be rule by your side. It is said that you can only become a King when you are… set free." He became oddly silent at the revelation.

"...Interesting," he finally said. He sat back and stared at her in his unnatural way. "Do you know whom? This... one who will allow me to feel again?" Sakura shook her head again, this time slowly.

"No one knows," she murmured. Her voice became a whisper. "I'm... so sorry..."

"For what?" The Ice Prince folds his hands in his lap. He is silent for a long moment. Then, finally, he says, "I do not know my name either." He looks at his hands. "I know I should be disappointed, but I feel... nothing... Have felt nothing for a century... For tens of centuries. " He looked at her with hooded lids. "It's… odd to be a bird knows he is in a cage but cannot see or feel it." Sakura looked at her feet.

"Then I'll open the cage. I'll set you free."

"You would be my savior." His voice was without curiosity, without contempt- a mere statement droned without surprise or interest or any sort of emotion at all.

"Yes. I don't know if I could do it- if I could set you free, but… I could try..." She brings her eyes to his. "I could kiss you." He leaned back in his throne, but said nothing, simply eyeing her with his blank, uncaring stare. Sakura stepped forward hesitantly, pacing herself up each step to his throne. She stood in front of him and touched his face with warm, curious fingers. It is cool and unmoving, like touching perfectly sculpted marble. She tilted his face up, towards her own. That cool glance was staggering up close. She could feel a small flame of panic, but she concentrated on the feeling of his cool skin. Leaning down, she pressed her lips to his frigid blue ones for a long moment. How long was she to wait? How many moments?

She did not know- but what she did know was that his lips were unresponsive and cold. She was making herself out to be a fool to him- not that he would care. A mere mortal girl trying to save a powerful immortal man. She began to pull away in shame. It didn't work. She wasn't anyone's savior. She looked down.

"I'm sorry-" She knew it wouldn't mean anything to him, the feeling of sorrow and failure, and yet she could not meet the gaze of the caged bird who could not see the bars of his prison. The cool touch of his fingers on her chin surprised her. He pulled her lips downward and kissed her again. Her eyes widened with shock, and as she felt his returning kiss, she saw color- real, living color- flood into his face. Sakura shut her eyes and leaned into his still cool touch. Finally, he pulled away and opened his eyes.

The icy gray had been replaced by a bright, violent violet. He gave her a soft, gentle smile, mildly curious.

It reached his eyes.

"My name is Artem." He kissed her palm tenderly with warm, living lips. "My Queen."

A wolf's howl sang in the distance. Somehow, as she looked into the once icy eyes of the King, the song was much less lonely than she'd imagined before. She sat beside him on the massive throne and leaned her head against his shoulder to listen.


End file.
